It is known that pets, in particular dogs, are walked outdoors using leashes, the strap of which can be fastened in some cases to the collar applied to the neck of the animal, or in other cases to an accessory known as a harness, which retains the animal not by the neck but by the entire front part of the body.
In the prior art there are various types of harnesses for pets.
A commercially widespread harness consists of a sort of sling formed by two substantially parallel belts, each of which is equipped with an adjusting stop element, held together by two rings and joined to them by two slots. The two substantially parallel belts carry a strap substantially perpendicular to them, with fixed length, with the two ends forming two slots, inside each of which one of the substantially parallel belts slides, in such a way that the perpendicular belt is movable.
The rings are also connected to two further shorter belts, each of which is provided with two small slots adjacent to each other, the first of which stops with clearance a bayonet type closing device, whilst the other, located the end of the conveyor, stops a ring.
In situ, once the adjustment of the length of the two substantially parallel belts has been performed, using the adjusting stop elements with which they are fitted, and the legs of the animal have been inserted in the two large spaces created by the two substantially parallel belts and by the belt perpendicular to them, the two complementary parts of the bayonet type closing device are fitted together above the back of the animal, after having passed the belts around the sides of it, and the spring clip of the leash is inserted in both the rings alongside each other.
A variant of the above-mentioned harness is formed by two belts, each of which forming a slot only at one of its ends, each having an adjustable stop element and held together by two rings made of metal or other material present at their ends. The two belts form the collar, and the two rings are also be joined to two other belts of fixed length forming at the relative four ends of the slots.
A further belt slides through both the slots spaced relative to the two belts forming the collar, one of which is equipped with a ring for hooking the spring clip of the leash; the further belt is also equipped with an adjusting stop element, at the two ends of which there are the two complementary parts of a bayonet type closing device.
In situ, the muzzle of the animal is passed through the collar ring and a leg of the animal is passed through the space formed by the two belts equipped with double slots, and by the belt which passes through the two slots located distant from the collar belts of the two belts; belts are then passed around the back of the animal with the belt equipped with the two parts complementary closing bayonet, and they are fixed by inserting the male part in the female part of the closing device, which will be located, at the end of this operation, above the back of the animal.
A drawback with these harnesses is that their dimensions are fixed, so they can be uncomfortable for the animal and awkward to put on, if too tight.
Moreover, the continuous rubbing due to the movement may cause a loss of hair in the areas on which the belts of the harness rest.
Another drawback of the prior art harnesses is that of being constructionally complicated, as they comprise multiple parts, with belts held together by rings made of metal or other material, resulting in production processes involving various stitching steps to form the slots required to house the complementary closing components, the adjusting stop elements and the rings, thus having a considerable affect on the costs and the duration of their production process, thereby increasing the costs of the finished product.
Another drawbar of prior art harnesses relates to the fact that are relatively difficult to fit to the animals, since they need the person to bend down, lift the dog, lay the harness flat on the ground, pass one or both of the front feet of the animal in the rings formed by the belts of the harness, and then click the closing means after having passed the belts around the back of the dog.
More generally speaking, the drawback which all the prior art harnesses have in common relates to the need to make various harnesses each suitable for dogs of different sizes, which results in increased production costs and difficulties in having them available in store for sale over the counter.
Document EP 1033075 A1 discloses a harness comprising a belly strap for surrounding the animal belly and a front strap for surrounding the front area of the neck, joined to one another by side connecting members, a lower connecting strap joining the belly strap with the front strap, and a symmetrical length-adjustment device comprising two upper straps connecting the side connecting members respectively to a first and a second portion of a releasable clip that can be located as desired along said upper straps.
Document U.S. Pat. No. 8,171,892 B1 discloses a restraint harness for a dog, including a conventional adjustable dog harness or collar and an attached control extension member. The control extension member includes a plurality of straps configured to extend to the hind end of the dog and a motion control cord that is interlaced in and between the conventional adjustable dog harness and the control extension member.
Document US 2008/0105216 A1 discloses a canine control harness having an upper chest strap and a brisket strap, each having first and second ends, where the first ends are interconnected and the second ends are interconnected at respectively laterally spaced apart points over the withers of the dog and including an endless loop strap that slidingly interconnects the spaced apart points of attachment so that tension force applied to the top side of the endless loop will draw the points of attachment together and apply inwardly directed pressure to the body of the dog.